Salsa Mexicana

Many, many years ago, Christmas 1999, to be precise, a dear friend gave me a cookbook of Salsa recipes. This book has 50 recipes for salsas. Tomato salsas, chile salsas, fruit salsas, tropical salsas, and corn salsas. So Many Salsas! Page 8 of this book is the most stained and dripped upon page in this book, because it is the page with our favorite go-to homemade salsa. Super simple to make, with easy to find ingredients, it’s a keeper. Enjoy.

2 Tbsp. finely diced white onion

8 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 Serrano chiles, finely diced*

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh Cilantro

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Place the onion in a mesh strainer, rinse with hot water, and drain. Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Yield: approximately 2 cups.

*To amp up the heat leave the serrano seeds in!

Beef, Vegetable, and Wild Mushroom Soup

from Bon Appétit | January 2008

This soup gets a rich, earthy flavor from dried porcini mushrooms, which are available in the produce section of many supermarkets and at Italian markets and specialty foods stores. Perfect for a chilly day with a loaf of good, crusty bread. Makes 6 servings 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 3/4- to 1-pound cross-cut meaty beef shank bone 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided 3 bay leaves 2 cups chopped onions 1 1/2 cups diced celery 5 1/2- 6 1/2 cups beef broth (depending on how 'soupy' you like it) 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice 1 large carrot, peeled, diced 1 large parsnip, peeled, diced 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, larger pieces chopped small   Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add shank bone and meat cubes to pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until meat is brown and juices are reduced to glaze, turning shank bone occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons thyme and bay leaves to pot; stir 1 minute. Add onions and celery; stir 3 minutes. Add beef broth, tomatoes with juice, carrot, parsnip, and mushrooms. Bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until beef is tender, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Discard shank bone and bay leaves. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle soup with remaining 1/2 tablespoon thyme and serve.

Martha Washington’s Bean Soup

When I was a young wife and mom, a Texan married to a Pennsylvanian and living in Germany, cooking for my husband was complicated. He was not raised on the staple dishes of my own upbringing, and I was unfamiliar with the foods of the North. Enter Jo. Jo and her husband lived downstairs from us. She was from Pennsylvania, and besides being an avid cook, she had a desire to have someone to "mother." Jo and Roger quickly became dear friends to us, surrogate grandparents to our firstborn, and in her kitchen I learned to make the mysterious meals that my husband loved. This soup is one of our favorites. So good for a cold or rainy day. This soup is a reason to have ham- so you can have a ham bone to make soup! (And I still don't know what Martha Washington has to do with it!)

From Jo Durbin

1 lb. Mixed dry beans

ham bone or two ham hocks

1 large onion, chopped

1 28 oz. can tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp. peppercorns

3-4 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Rinse beans the night before, put in large pot, cover with water and soak *overnight.  Drain in the morning.  Add 2 quarts of water and ham bone or hocks.  Simmer slowly 2 ½ - 3 hours.  Remove ham bone or hocks, and add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another 30 minutes.  Once ham is cool enough to handle, separate meat from bones and fat, chop into small bits, and return the meat to the soup.

Serve with cornbread- yum!  

*If you spontaneously decide to make this and haven't soaked your beans overnight, all hope is not lost! Simply put the beans in a large pot and cover with water as described above, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain, and continue with the recipe.